Prognostic significance of p63, p53 and ki67 expression in laryngeal basaloid squamous cell carcinomas.

BACKGROUND

It is well known that basaloid squamous call carcinoma (BSCC) is more aggressive than the usual form of squamous cell carcinoma. However, current information about the prognostic significance of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma in the larynx is sparse. We investigated p63, p53 and Ki67 in BSCC of the larynx.

METHODS

In a retrospective study conducted from January 2000 to June 2006, we used immunohistochemistry to analyse the protein expression of p63, p53, and Ki-67 in paraffin-embedded tumour samples from 22 BSCC patients and compared the clinicopathological parameters with the survival outcome.

RESULTS

Positive p63 expression was found in 16 of 22 BSCC specimens (72.7%). Expression was higher in cases without lymph node metastasis than in cases with lymph node metastasis. This investigation found an inverse correlation between the expression of p63 and lymph node status in BSCC.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first clinical study of p63 expression in laryngeal BSCC.